Suggestions for a More Christian Christmas

They steal the show every year.

Sure, we are happy to see the fourth grade girl who plays Mary in this year's Sunday School Christmas Program, and we giggle a little when the boy playing Joseph has a voice higher than that of his "betrothed wife," but we all know the best part of the show are the two, three, and four-year-olds.

When they take the stage dressed as little lambs crawling around the manger scene or making the motions to "Christmas bells, Christmas bells, ring them all the day; God the Father sent His son on that first Christmas Day," this is the moment for Instagram shots and Facebook Live. The stars of the show have arrived.

Beyond the stage, the Christmas season provides us with a most wonderful time of the year to model and to teach truths we Christians hold dear. Your Christmas can be more than a seasonal event if you will take advantage of the time before you.

Develop the practice to give rather than receive.

As Christians we know the great joy of receiving God's indescribable gift. The salvation we possess was not earned by our merits, but was handed to us by God's grace. While the gift of our Lord was a great sacrifice for the Father, it was his joy to extend the gift to us.

My mom went to be with the Lord just weeks after Christmas a few years ago. When we were with her Christmas morning, she seemed tired, but I assumed (wrongly) this was simply missing my dad, her first Christmas without him. What we didn't know was the deterioration of her heart had once again reached critical mass. She would die less than a month later.

For her last Christmas my mom chose to model to her children and grandchildren the Bible truth that it is better to give than receive. In the tree was a small envelope. Inside was a brief note describing a generous gift my mom made to a single woman, a parent with very little who spent what she earned on the care of her daughter. It brought my mom great joy to know of this woman's receipt of her gift.

In a country dominated by an "All I want for Christmas is…" mentality, we Christians can be different. How will you teach this truth to your children? How will you live this truth in your own life?

Start a search to know the great plan of God.

Have you ever tried to explain to a child how the baby in the manger is God? I wonder how our kindergarten Sunday School teachers do what they do. Adults ask me simple questions like "How do I help my teenage son?" But those early childhood teachers, they get the really tough questions.

The incarnation, God becoming a man, is a great mystery we accept by faith. To say we accept a truth by faith means God told us it is so we believe it though we may not fully understand it. That we cannot understand fully should not prevent us from understanding partially. How hungry are you to know the mind of God? Do you want to know him, his works, his plans, his wisdom? What questions about God deserve your efforts to find an answer that reveals his greatness to you? As the psalmist wrote, "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable."

Christmas affords great opportunities for parents to trigger curiosity in their children about who God is. Fan the flame of the wonder of God in the minds of young ones telling them what God did in Bethlehem so many years ago.

Make Christmas about Jesus, not family, not tradition, not vacation but about Jesus.

Most have their traditions about Christmas, and they serve as wonderful occasions to promote happiness, love, appreciation, and good memories. I cherish every memory I maintain of Christmases long ago shared with those now with the Lord. As meaningful as the moments in the present and the remembrances of the past, can we Christians celebrate more than those without Christ celebrate?

To make Christmas more about Jesus will require purpose. You will have to think, "How can I emphasize Jesus so that he increases and we decrease?" This question may produce blessings you never imagined.

May this Christmas season be most joyful for you, Christian, as you soak in the wonder of God becoming man.

As always I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.

Mike VerWay

Pastor for Preaching & Vision

She Has Done What She Could

“You better decide to be happy,” those were my words to Brenda on Saturday, November 30, 1991. We had just entered the city limits of Midland, Michigan, to begin the new ministry at Calvary Baptist Church.

My cold admonition was prompted by Brenda’s tears and fears. We had left a great church in Godfrey, Illinois, where we had served nearly four years. It was our first ministry. It was the where place Michael was born. We were happy, and now we were starting over with people we didn’t know.

To make matters worse, we had no place to live. The new church in Midland had arranged rental housing for us in the home of Michigan snowbirds, but they hadn’t vacated their house when we arrived. The church assured us it wouldn’t be long before the owners headed south. In the meantime they arranged for the three of us to live with John and Sharron Abbott, whoever that was. No wonder Brenda was crying.

Many young couples live with their parents at some point in the early years of marriage. Since our wedding day, Brenda and I have never lived closer than 225 miles to any family member. We both were hopeful the time living with John and Sharron would be as brief as possible. It wasn’t.

Our landlords took their sweet ‘ol time loading up the pickup and wouldn’t leave Midland for another six weeks. The original plan was to rent their home for the Michigan winter buying us time to find our own place. Our six weeks with John and Sharron would become three months when our landlords called from the road informing us they were coming back early. We had to be out in days.

“Hi, Sharron. This is Brenda. Can we move back in?”

Today, Brenda, Michael, Jennifer, Emily, Jeffery, and I are in Midland, Michigan, for the funeral of Grandma Abbott. She died last week after a lengthy battle with dementia having been cared for by Grandpa Abbott in the most beautiful way.

Over the last few days our family has, without exaggeration, talked for hours about Grandma and Grandpa Abbott. Simply stated, our family would not be what we are and where we are without them. They mean everything to us, but not only to us. So many in the church would say the same.

As an executive at the Dow Chemical Company, God gave John an income level that allowed for sharing with others like Ephesians 4 directs, “work…(so that you) may have something to give him who has need.” My kids wore clothing, boots, shoes, coats, hats, mittens and more given to them by grandma. But we were not the exclusive recipients. Family after family in the church received household appliances, furniture, bags of groceries left by an anonymous donor, and cash. When she saw a need, she acted. To John’s credit, he promoted his wife’s giving away his hard-earned money.

We had lived in Michigan for three years when we received the phone call. Brenda’s mom went to be with the Lord at the age of 53. She has suffered another massive stroke. It was the middle of the night when we called John and Sharron. Within minutes, they were in our living room holding us, loving us, and crying with us. Brenda thought she was alone in the world, but she wasn’t. God have given to her from the church a mother. Sharron became that to Brenda just at the Bible instructs (Titus 2). So much of who Brenda is as a mom, wife, mature woman in the church, and soon to be grandmother, she learned in the kitchen of Sharron Abbott. I and anyone who receives from Brenda is the beneficiary of Sharron’s Christian life poured into a lonely, hurting, young mom. I cannot say thank you enough to our Lord for Sharron.

She gave extravagantly to missionaries. She volunteered her skills as a physical education teacher to provide elementary PE to our Christian school. She taught children’s Sunday School well into her retirement years. She loved people with special needs. Was she a Proverbs 31 kind of woman? I suppose. But I think a better comparison is Lydia in Acts 16.

Lydia was the first convert to Christ in ancient Philippi. She appears to be a woman of means who likely funded some of Paul’s travels. What we know is the newly formed church at Philippi met in her house. Her generosity and hospitality laid the foundation for the love affair between Paul and the church, described by him in the New Testament book of Philippians.

What Lydia did for the church at Philippi is what Sharron Abbot did for the church in Midland, Michigan. She’s worked tirelessly for Jesus showing his love and generosity to the people of Calvary Baptist Church building in the church a love for each other and a unity reminiscent of ancient Philippi. May God give Calvary Baptist Church and First Calvary Baptist Church more Lydias…and more Sharrons.

When we left Midland, Michigan, after ten years to move to Minnesota, our family spent the last night at Grandpa and Grandma’s house. I remember our parting as we stood in the driveway. All of us crying. They were some of the strongest voices encouraging our move away from Midland, despite what it would cost them personally in terms of daily interaction with their grands.

But she lived what we all should know. This life is momentary. The stuff of this life is temporary. Heaven is eternal. Pointing people to Jesus, easing their hardships here, sharing generously what God has given you, loving the unloved, and living faithfully for Christ while he gives you breath is the pursuit of the Christian.

Today, along with her family, we lay Sharron's body to rest. Last week she entered the presence of her Lord whom she loved and who loved her. I have no doubt when she did that she heard from him, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord.” May God give us more like her.

As always I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.

Mike VerWay

Pastor for Preaching & Vision

Et Tu, Chick-fil-A?

Within walking distance of my office is what some call a little piece of heaven. For many there is no better fast food option than Chick-fil-A.

It took a long time for the Atlanta based company with well know Christian values to bring their iconic sandwich and over the top customer service to the great state of Minnesota, but when they arrived, they thrived. The Gopher State now boasts 20 CFA locations.

But not everyone likes Chick-fil-A. I don't mean the sandwich or the waffle fries, they despise the brand. Infamously, some college campuses and even municipal governments have attempted to banish Chick-fil-A from their little kingdoms.

Earlier this year, the San Antonio, Texas, city council banned Chick-fil-A from opening a new restaurant at the San Antonio International Airport. Defending the vote to exclude Chick-fil-A, Councilman Roberto Trevino said, “San Antonio is a city full of compassion, and we do not have room in our public facilities for a business with a legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior.”

What is Chick-fil-A’s anti-LGBTQ behavior? In 2017, the Chick-fil-A Foundation gave $1,653,416 to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, $6,000 to the Paul Anderson Youth Home, and $150,000 to the Salvation Army. At the time all three non-profits promoted a biblical understanding of gender, sexuality, and marriage.

But that changed this week.

Moving forward the Chick-fil-A Foundation will no longer make financial contributions to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes nor to the Salvation Army because these are “two Christian charities that are known for their history of opposing LGBT rights.”

So to be clear, the next time you drop some coins in the red kettles at Christmas time to support the “largest social services provider in the world,” you too are promoting the opposition of the LBGTQ community.

But this column is not about Chick-fil-A. An Internet search will produce for you a wide array of opinion pieces and commentaries questioning Chick-fil-A’s decision. This column is about you and your commitment to Jesus Christ.

The Bottom Line

Jesus taught us that the system of this world is not the friend of his followers. In fact the system hates those who are committed to Jesus (John 15:18-20). If you are a Christian committed to the teachings of Jesus, they will say things about you that are not true. They will hunt you down and eliminate you (Matthew 5:11). They will not stop if you compromise with them. They will not negotiate a settlement. Satan has one objective: to utterly destroy every Christian and every expression of the name of Jesus.

The bottom line in business is the bottom line. I’ve neither read nor heard from any executive at Chick-fil-A articulating their rationale for the change in their charitable contributions. Chick-fil-A exists to sell as many chicken sandwiches as it can. If making contributions to The Fellowship of Christian Athletes and The Salvation Army poses a risk to the bottom line, then the bottom line wins.

So, here’s the bottom line for Christians: the cost to follow Jesus is going up every day. If you claim the exclusive teaching of Jesus, you will pay a steep price for your singular allegiance to him. If you adhere to truth presented in the Bible as the only truth by which humanity must live, you will adhere at a cost, a cost that is increasing with every passing day. This is the new normal for following Jesus in Western Culture.

Nothing New

While we in the United States are facing this in ways we’ve never faced it before, those faithful to our Lord have experienced this since the expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Abel died for his obedience to God. Joshua declared, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” The exiled Hebrews stood tall and told Nebuchadnezzar, “We do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

What will you do? Will you determine today you have no king but King Jesus? What price are you willing to pay to follow Jesus? Is there a price point where you say that’s too steep for me?

By God’s grace when faced with disapproval for following Jesus, we will reply, “My pleasure!”

As always I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.

Mike VerWay

Pastor for Preaching & Vision

For Your Tomorrow, They Gave Their Today

Americans alive today have served across the globe for the causes of freedom, justice, and humane living. From the vast battlefields of Europe to the rice paddies in Southeast Asia to the deserts in the Middle East and so many more islands, cities, and forgetful places, blood from all generations still alive today remains in those distant lands. Our country sends these young soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen and their officers to fight on our behalf and to calm on the behalf of others.

Whether voluntarily or because of selective service, on the whole, the American military serves US interests with distinction, honor and compassion. Around this Veteran’s Day our appreciation must not be muzzled. We live in a flawed but free country, secured for us in the past by brave members of the US Armed Forces and maintained in the present by the same.

A Meal and a Handshake

This week, restaurants across the country welcome past and current military personnel to their tables for a free meal. It is a kind gesture I hope many will accept. We Christians cannot leave the recognition to anonymous entrepreneurs. We can do more than Facebook posts and Twitter tweets. Maybe begin with your family and write a letter or an email expressing your thanks for their service. Pick up the phone and call your uncle, grandfather, or cousin and tell him how grateful you are for the service he rendered. Look around the church family and tell a mom or dad whose kid is currently serving that you appreciate their sacrifice to let their kid enlist and commit to pray for his physical and spiritual wellbeing. Be a thankful and loving Christian around this Veteran’s Day.

Real Models for Christians

Some of the most fascinating reading you can do details the efforts of Congressional Medal of Honor recipients. Their stories of bravery, honor, and self-sacrifice convey the best of humanity in the darkest of situations. Further, these accounts display for us in high definition the disposition of Jesus’s disciples – we are soldiers. The Apostle Paul described his Christian friend as his “brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier” (Phil. 2.25). Paul wrote disciples “must endure hardship as a good soldier(s) of Jesus Christ” and that “no one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier” (2 Tim. 2:3-4).

The Christian life is a wartime reality, and we are called to “fight the good fight” (1 Tim. 1:18; 6:12). Like the veterans and active personnel sitting at tables and in booths across the fruited plain, to do so means sacrifice, commitment, discipline, love, and endurance. Isaac Watts captures this beautifully and challengingly in his hymn, Am I a Solder of the Cross?

Am I a soldier of the cross, a follower of the Lamb,
And shall I fear to own His cause, or blush to speak His Name?

Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize, and sailed through bloody seas?

Are there no foes for me to face? Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace, to help me on to God?

Sure I must fight if I would reign; increase my courage, Lord.
I'll bear the toil, endure the pain, supported by Thy Word.

As always I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.

Mike VerWay
Pastor for Preaching & Vision

Help, I Need Somebody

It’s rather shocking how uncompassionate Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar – Job’s friends – are toward Job in his time of suffering.

• Bildad tells Job, "Your kids died because they sinned against God, end of story (8:4)."

• Zophar tells Job, “What you’re experiencing is actually far less than your sin against God deserves (11:6); stop clinging to your sin (11:14)!”

As some have said, With friends like Job’s, who needs enemies!

As an aside, as Old Testament saints I fully expect to meet Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar in heaven in the same way I expect to meet Adam, Eve, Abraham, Sarah, Samuel, and the rest of the prophets. The unsympathetic expressions toward Job come from the mouths of redeemed men.

It’s not true to say that they don’t care at all about Job’s suffering. They cared enough to make the trip from their homes to come to his aid (2:11-13). But there’s something sorely lacking. In their counsel there is nothing that offers Job any hope. In fact, Job hears in their words nothing more than mocking of his situation (13:4).

Imagining Job sitting on the garbage pile, it seems obvious to us that Job needs the gentle care of his friends. But somehow his friends miss his need to have someone weep with him in his weeping.

I do not think it is an overstatement to say all people agree that a local church, followers of Jesus Christ, recipients of God’s grace, should be caring people. It is a misnomer in the minds of everyone to claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ but deny the expression of care for others modeled for us by our Lord in His ministry and His cross sacrifice. “You’re a Christian; you’re supposed to care for people” is how the thinking goes. It is why “Care” is one of our 4 C’s that we believe mark the lifestyle of Christian disciples. We believe our church should be the frontline for physical and spiritual care for all in our church. Sometimes we get it right, and sometimes we don’t. We want to get better at providing care.

Here are a few signs someone needs Christian care.

Attendance at worship, small group meetings, student group, or church functions changes.

When individuals or families change the frequency with which they meet with others within the church, something is happening. We cannot assume all is well when other believers are not at the gatherings of the church. All too quickly one missed worship service becomes two, then five or six.

Withdrawal from family or friends.

Hurting people are afraid to be hurt again, so they remove themselves from the people they believe might hurt them again. These broken people need spiritual care.

Infrequent laughter or smiles.

Proverbs 15:13; 15:15; 17:22 and Isaiah 24:7 convey laughter and smiles come from happy souls. When these are missing from someone, the absence indicates a need for care.

Outbursts of anger, especially over matters that seem trite.

Bad drivers, a spilled glass of juice, the newspaper in the shrubs instead of on the porch, a game not recorded for later viewing, and chasing the dog who got out through an open door are not matters that should prompt an emotional outburst that damages relationships.

Communication contains critical or wearisome comments about a spouse, a child, a parent, a teacher, a supervisor, or a pastor.

The gospel makes our speech different. When our speech sounds eerily reminiscent of our unsaved lives, we declare our need for spiritual care.

Living in and/or talking about past negative experiences.

Because we live in a sin-filled world and are surrounded by sinners, we all are the victims of negative past experiences. When those experiences frame our worldview, dominate our thinking, and justify our behaviors, we need spiritual care.

My musing is getting too long. So here are the rest I considered without comment.

• Admission or discovery of a sinful habit or a serious moral failure.

• Death of a family member or friend, serious illness with a child, sibling, parent, spouse or self.

• Conflict with children or other close family members.

• Significant change in work responsibilities or a career change.

• Unusual weight gain or loss.

• Signs of fatigue or sleeplessness.

Whose responsibility is it to care for the people in the local church? In a way the responsibility belongs to everyone, but “When everybody is responsible to care, nobody is responsible.” It’s like what one of our ladies said to me. “My boss wonders why nobody shovels the entrance when it snows. I told my boss, ‘Nobody shovels because it’s everybody’s responsibility to shovel. If you want someone to shovel, give him the job.’”

It is why we have a mechanism like small groups to provide a way for people to receive and give spiritual care. You know you have a unique responsibility to the people in your small group to care for them, and you know that in your small group there is a group of people to whom you can turn for care. Other churches may use different mechanisms to identify care responsibilities. Whatever your mechanism, I hope you will embrace the responsibility to care. This is a critical function of the church.

Finally, if you are in need of spiritual care and no one knows, I’d like to help. Please contact me and let’s talk.

As always I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.

Mike VerWay
Pastor for Preaching & Vision